Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1115 i The Week

What happened The “Russian shadow” Donald Trump’s first address to Congress last week was overshadowed by a new storm of allegations about his administration’s ties to Russia. It emerged that his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, had twice talked to the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during last year’s election campaign – although he had told his Senate confirmation hearing that he “did not have communications with the Russians” during that period. Sessions ignored Democratic calls for his resignation, but said he’d step back from investigations into Moscow’s alleged interference in the campaign. Trump stoutly defended Sessions, and declared that the Democrats were engaging in a “total witch-hunt”. On Saturday, the president launched an unprecedented attack on Barack Obama on Twitter, accusing him of a “Nixon/ Watergate” plot to tap his communications:…

Trust in the facts, not in fairies Jonn Elledge New Statesman I never expected Peter Pan to become a key political text for the 21st century, says Jonn Elledge. But what I call the “Tinkerbell Theory of Politics” is essential for understanding our times. J.M. Barrie wrote that whenever a child says they don’t believe in fairies, a fairy “falls right down dead”, and politicians now claim much the same if anyone queries their schemes: “because we don’t believe, they can’t achieve”. I first noticed this during the Scottish referendum, when those pointing out the costs of independence were accused of “talking down Scotland”. Today, “Tinkerbellism” is everywhere. For Brexiteers, it’s not the Government’s lack of a plan that matters, it’s the critics’ lack of faith: point out the difficulties,…

The US billionaire Elon Musk plans to send two paying passengers into space as early as next year, reports The Daily Telegraph. The unnamed pair will fly around the Moon and back aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket, in a six- to seven-day trip, according to Musk’s company, SpaceX. Space tourists have previously paid the Russian government an estimated $20m each for trips to the International Space Station (ISS) – but if all goes to plan, the SpaceX duo will travel further. The ISS orbits the Earth at an altitude of 249 miles: SpaceX intends to travel up to 400,000 miles into space, further than any humans have gone (the Moon is about 238,900 miles from Earth). Having paid hefty deposits, they will start training this year, but many things could…

For a few years, as part of World Contraception Day, I spent some time talking to schoolchildren about sex, said Stuart Heritage in The Guardian. “The misinformation I encountered was catastrophic.” I met teenagers who thought you couldn’t get pregnant if you had sex standing up; and others who believed that a post-coital douche of Coca-Cola was an effective form of contraception. “One particularly bleak morning in Maidstone, I found myself arguing with a teenager who maintained that, in an emergency, a crisp packet would be a fine alternative to a condom.” Teaching children about sex – as well as relationships, consent, privacy and safety – is more “vitally important” than ever in the internet age. So thank heavens for Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, who last week unveiled the…

“No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” Poet Stanisław Jerzy Lec, quoted in The New Yorker “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Einstein, quoted in The Mail on Sunday “The only words that don’t offend a single human being are words delivered without purpose.” Lena Dunham, quoted on Glamour.com “The man who says his wife can’t take a joke forgets that she took him.” Oscar Wilde, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle “The first casualty of war is not truth, it is room service.” Journalist Chris Buckland, quoted in The Daily Telegraph “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will.” Frederick Douglass, quoted…

Harry Kane is proving to be “the man for all seasons”, said Henry Winter in The Times. In 2014-15, the Tottenham striker scored 21 Premier League goals. Last season he was the top scorer, with 25. And now he leads the race for the Golden Boot once again, with 19 goals so far this season; since the start of January, he has struck an extraordinary 14 in all competitions. On Sunday, in Tottenham’s 3-2 win over Everton, the 23-year-old was the “match-winner”, said Jason Burt in The Daily Telegraph. He netted twice, and the first goal – fired in from 30 yards – “summed up” his “brilliance”: it was the kind of goal that great players score. Yet there is more to Kane than just “majestic goalscoring”, said Barney Ronay…

What is it about Disney’s new live-action film version of Beauty and the Beast that has been causing such consternation? Russia has rated it an adult-only 16+; a cinema in Alabama has banned it (“If I can’t sit through a movie with God or Jesus sitting by me,” the cinema’s owner explained, “then we have no business showing it”). They were appalled, said Stefan Kyriazis in the Sunday Express, by the way a minor character called LeFou is shown to have a homosexual crush on Beauty’s suitor, Gaston. As the film’s director, Bill Condon, told Attitude magazine: one day, LeFou wants “to be Gaston”; the next he wants to kiss him. Don’t be misled into thinking this wacky character (his name means “The Madman”) is a sign of enlightened attitudes…

The Jolly Sportsman Chapel Lane, East Chiltington, Lewes, East Sussex (01273-890400) I visited this country pub on a weekday lunchtime in the miserable depths of January, says Kathryn Flett in The Daily Telegraph. “Me and the Bloke” made up half the Sportsman’s customers at the fag end of a service – yet our front-of-house welcome didn’t even remotely read as “You want lunch? Now? Really?” On the contrary, we were given the warmest of welcomes. I admire that in any restaurant, frankly, and “especially one effectively located in a field”. Chef-owner Bruce Wass’ cooking was great, too, without ever being remotely pretentious. I opted for the very affordable fixed-price menu: “what’s not to like about ‘organic pork and fennel sausage roll with buttered mash, Brussels tops, shallots and red…

New cars: what the critics say Autocar “The most important new car of 2017?” The fifth-generation Discovery is certainly one of them. More rugged than a Range Rover, this seven-seater SUV replaces its predecessor’s separate chassis and body with an aluminium monocoque (in which the two are integrated). It’s up to 480kg lighter than before, depending on your engine – but at upwards of 2,184kg, it’s still hefty. The Daily Telegraph The Discovery has made a “remorseless move upmarket”: the front of the car looks “sleek”, in a corporate sort of way – though the rear is a bit of mess. The cabin is a big step up – there’s genuine craft here, with “immaculate” trimming. The seats are big and benefit from handy one-touch folding, which expands the boot…

Cathedral city break Explore Winchester Cathedral while staying at The Limes, just 15 minutes’ walk from the city centre. A three-night stay costs £376. 01227-464958, www.mulberrycottages.com. Arrive 24 March. A weekend in Bruges Discover the medieval city, and its superb chocolate shops, during a two-night stay at Hotel Heritage, from £430 b&b, excluding flights. 020-3553 6833, www.chicretreats.com. Arrive 5 May. Family fun in Florida Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista, in Orlando, is offering a 14-night, room-only stay for a family of four, from £469pp, incl. Manchester flights. 0344-557 6965, www.travel citydirect.com. Depart 5 May. Bangkok and Khao Lak Enjoy 3 nights at Shanghai Mansion Bangkok, followed by 7 nights at Beyond Resort Khao Lak. From £999pp b&b, incl. London flights. 01293-762456, www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk. Depart 30 April.…

Good news for Hammond on global growth Phillip Inman The Observer At least there’s some good news for the Chancellor this week, says Phillip Inman: global growth appears to be going great guns. The “magnitude of this turnaround” could “save” the Government from “the inevitable cuts or extra borrowing that would follow a stagnating economy”. Even better, it looks to be sustained. This isn’t just “a Trump-inspired dash for growth, although the US president is part of the story”. Survey figures showing “the largest improvement in worldwide manufacturing business conditions” for more than five years augur a year of high employment and solid wage growth across the globe. All indicators suggest that “company bosses are upbeat about the year ahead”. Of course, “the doomsayers may yet have their day”. A…

Controversy of the week The Lords in revolt “Hooray for the House of Lords.” I never expected to hear those words coming from a notably left-wing friend of mine, said James Moore in The Independent. But I see his point. The Lords may be an absurd anachronism in the 21st century, an undemocratic, unelected chamber, but they’ve done something that MPs have signally failed to do: frustrate the Government’s plan to act as if it had a blank cheque to push through its Article 50 Bill, which kicks off the two-year process of leaving the EU. Last week the Lords “struck a blow” for decency by sending the Bill back to the Commons with an amendment to protect the rights of the three million EU nationals living here. And this…

The nerd at the Oscars Col Needham doesn’t look like a Hollywood hotshot. The 50-year-old Englishman has wonky teeth, dodgy glasses and a receding hairline. Yet he has the power to make or break an actor’s career. In 1980, Needham – then a 12-year-old movie obsessive – began keeping a diary tracking the cast, crew and plot of every film he watched. Ten years later, at the dawn of the internet, he uploaded his diary online and christened it the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). It rapidly became Hollywood’s bible, with its Starmeter function – which tracks how many clicks an actor’s page gets – used by directors to gauge rising talent. In 1998, Needham sold the site to Amazon for an estimated £44m; but he still runs it from his…

A Russian MP has proposed a novel solution to his nation’s problem with football hooliganism: turn such clashes into a spectator sport. The Russian fans are known to include a large hooligan element: in Marseilles last summer, they fought England supporters in the streets. Igor Lebedev says that rather than crack down on such fights, they should be formalised: two sides, each with 20 unarmed combatants, could meet in an arena at a set time. The brawls, he said, would channel “fans’ aggression in a peaceful direction” – and provide an example to England’s undisciplined louts. “Russia would be a pioneer in a new sport.” A French artist who spent a week living in a rock was freed last Wednesday. Abraham Poincheval had entombed himself in a body-shaped cavity carved…

Is back pain killing us? Lower back pain – believed to be the world’s leading cause of disability – may be an indicator of early death, a study has suggested. Researchers at Sydney University examined health data on 4,390 elderly Danish twins, and found that those who suffered from back pain were significantly more likely to die in any year than those without it. “Our study found that compared to those without [it], a person with spinal pain has a 13% higher chance of dying every year,” said team leader Dr Paulo Ferreira. “This is a significant finding as many people think that back pain is not life-threatening.” He does not think there is a direct causal link between back pain and premature death; rather that in some patients, living…

The Queen has a secret code for escaping boring conversations, according to royal historian Hugo Vickers . Shifting her trusty Launer handbag from one hand to the other indicates to staff that she is ready to move on from a conversation. Twisting her wedding ring is the regal equivalent of an SOS, indicating that she wants to be moved along at speed. “It would be done very nicely,” Vickers told People magazine. “Someone would come along and say [to you], ‘Sir, the Archbishop of Canterbury would very much like to meet you.’” Martin Clunes is challenging the taxman after being told he cannot offset the cost of plastic surgery against his income. The star of Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly had tried to claim an unspecified cosmetic procedure against…

“Eight months after becoming Prime Minister, Theresa May is in a seemingly impregnable position” in domestic politics, said the FT. With the opposition in disarray, she is a staggering 18 points ahead in the polls; and her own Tories, so often riven over the EU, are largely behind her Brexit strategy. But there is a cloud on the horizon: “rumbling discontent” in Scotland that could complicate difficult Brexit negotiations. It’s only two-and-a-half years since the Scots rejected independence in a poll that the SNP billed as a “once in a generation” opportunity; but that was before the Brexit referendum delivered a result a large majority of Scots opposed. They are now furious that they are being dragged out of the EU against their will, and Nicola Sturgeon has indicated that…

“When they began to race seven years ago, Team Sky were cast as an angelic voice crying out in the wilderness,” said Oliver Holt in The Mail on Sunday. At a time when cycling had been battered by scandal, they were meant to be a “wholesome British antidote” to Lance Armstrong and the rest of the dopers. And we cheered them on as their riders Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome won four of the last five Tours de France. But it’s now clear that Team Sky’s ethos was, in fact, a “grand illusion”. If anyone still believed it, a devastating House of Commons hearing into doping last week put paid to such credulity. Nicole Sapstead, the head of UK Anti-Doping (Ukad), was scathing in her criticism; in the words of…

The truth about tax To The Daily Telegraph If Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, wants matters to be transparent, he should review the “small print” of HM Government’s 30,000-page tax code. How many taxpayers realise that (once employee’s and employer’s National Insurance contributions are taken into account) the basic tax rate of 20% is the equivalent of 40%, and the higher rate of 40% is in fact 49%? David Cameron claimed to have “taken millions of working people out of taxation altogether”, yet they are paying 12% on earnings above £5,668 (the threshold for National Insurance), and the employer is paying a further 13.8%. We have had to wait a long time for a Conservative government, and some of us would like a radical one while the going…

Chilli butter spring green pilaf Serves 4 280g basmati rice 75g butter 2 leeks, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ tsp allspice 425ml hot vegetable or chicken stock salt and freshly ground black pepper 300g podded baby broad beans, defrosted if frozen 250g asparagus, sliced into 4cm pieces 50g pistachios, roughly chopped ½ small bunch dill, finely chopped To serve: Greek yoghurt 1½–2 tsps chilli flakes • Tip the rice into a bowl and cover with cold water. • Meanwhile, heat 50g of the butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Once foaming, add the leeks and cook for about 8 minutes, until softened. Stir through the garlic and allspice. • Drain the rice, add it to the pan and stir to coat in the butter. Pour…

The modest Dutch designer who made millions from Miffy Dick Bruna 1927-2017 Dick Bruna, who has died aged 89, created one of the most instantly recognisable characters in children’s literature, said The New York Times: the sparsely drawn white rabbit known in English as Miffy. Over half a century, Bruna wrote more than 120 children’s books – small and square, ideal for little hands – which sold some 85 million copies; he became the most translated Dutch-language author after Anne Frank, while Miffy – adored not just by children, but by art critics and designers, too – was featured on everything from key rings to posters. In 2015, Bruna’s work was the subject of an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and in his home town of Utrecht, there is…

Standard Life/Aberdeen: “Staberdeen” Scotland’s recent record in the finance industry isn’t much to write home about, said Alex Brummer in the Daily Mail. This week saw a new “bid for glory”. Two tartan titans, Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management, have announced a surprise £11bn mega-merger that will create the biggest active investment manager in Britain, and the second-largest in Europe. “The idea of a new Scottish £660bn financial powerhouse to erase bad memories of both Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland… should be as welcome as a Burns Night feast.” Even if it’s “a case of two whisky-soaked Scottish drunks holding each other up in stressful times”, it’s still “far better than letting them fall into a ditch”. The bosses behind the move – Aberdeen’s Martin Gilbert…

Bruno Iksil The former JP Morgan Chase trader known as the “London Whale” for the $6.2bn trading losses he inflicted on the bank in 2012 is longing for his day in court. “I have to retrieve my reputation, my intellectual property and, simply, my life,” Bruno Iksil told Financial News. The Frenchman claims that his managers at JP Morgan “repeatedly” instructed him to put on the trades. In 2012, he reached a deal with the US authorities to testify against his former colleagues, but no charges have been tabled. And since, under US law, proceedings must start within five years of the alleged wrongdoing, time is running out. Worried friends have told Iksil to move on. He says that is “impossible”. Everyone “wanted to behead me or destroy me or…

Brussels Women “weak and small”: A far-right Polish MEP is being investigated for claiming during a debate in the European Parliament that women “must earn less than men because they are weaker, smaller and less intelligent”. Janusz Korwin-Mikke’s remarks may have breached parliamentary rules specifying that members must show mutual respect. The “libertarian” MEP (above) has caused controversy before. In 2015, he was fined and briefly suspended from the parliament for giving a Nazi salute while speaking against plans to standardise EU transport tickets. “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Ticket,” he said, a play on a Nazi-era slogan. Tuam, Ireland Infants’ mass grave: A mass grave containing the remains of possibly hundreds of babies and toddlers has been found at the site of a former Catholic home for unmarried mothers…

Scientists have devised a simple way to estimate the amount of urine in swimming pools – and it confirms our worst fears: a lot of people do pee in the water. Developed in Canada, the test works by measuring the concentration in water of acesulfame potassium (Ace K), an artificial sweetener used in many processed foods that passes through the body unaltered. The team, from the University of Alberta, tested 31 pools and hot tubs and found Ace K in every single one. In one 830,000-litre pool (a third the size of an Olympic pool), an estimated 75 litres of urine was released in a three-week period – enough to fill a dustbin. The highest concentration was found in a hotel hot tub. Although urine is sterile, it may not…

“There are very few things that $5bn can’t buy,” said Laurie Penny in The Guardian, “but one of them is manners.” Last week, footage emerged of Uber’s billionaire CEO and founder Travis Kalanick shouting at an Uber driver who’d dared to complain that sharp reductions in fares were driving him into bankruptcy. “Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit,” sneered Kalanick, slamming the car door. (The driver gave him a one-star rating, and posted the incident – recorded on his dashcam – online.) We expect our “robber barons” to be brash, but to swear at one of your own low-paid “partners”? This is a “new class of bastard”. Kalanick was quick to issue a grovelling apology, said Timothy B. Lee on Vox.com – but PR disasters…

“British universities are largely staffed by the Left,” said Charles Moore in The Daily Telegraph. Perhaps that’s no surprise – an “is the Pope Catholic?” thesis. But what’s new, according to a study published last week, is the question of degree. The report, published by the neoliberal Adam Smith Institute, reveals that in 1964, 35% of UK academics supported the Tory party. Today, only 11% do; while 46% support Labour, 22% the Greens, and 9% the Lib Dems. “The once mixed garden of academia has become almost a monoculture.” Many disciplines, particularly the humanities and social sciences, have been heavily infiltrated by the Left, which, “having waited in vain for capitalism to collapse”, branched out “into wider social and cultural issues – race, sexual politics, the use of language”. Today…

“Boxers rarely know when to stop,” said Rick Broadbent in The Times. And David Haye is no exception. By the 11th round of his fight against Tony Bellew last Saturday, the British fighter was “utterly spent”; having ruptured his Achilles tendon in the sixth round, he could hardly move. But “ailing” though he was, he refused to give up, and was only spared from further damage when his trainer threw in the towel. Haye had to undergo surgery the next day – and Bellew, too, was in bad shape, nursing a broken right hand. There was no title up for grabs, said Kevin Mitchell in The Observer. Yet it was, nevertheless, a “strong contender for fight of the year”. In one corner was cruiserweight world champion Bellew, an old-school “family…

To The Times At the risk of over-personalising digital assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa even further, would it reduce the risk of children turning into “spoilt brats” if protocols were built in that required the use of “please” and “thank you”, and other similar polite language, to activate instructions to any electronic device or robot? The Rev Dr Ian K. Duffield, Sheffield To The Times Ian Duffield’s suggestion that we say “please” to subhumans is both morally dangerous and theologically indefensible. It has, however, been tried. During the crucial acceptance firings of the Saturn IV-B moon rocket, the test conductor entered the “Fire” command. Hundreds of onlookers held their breath, but the silence was broken only by the automatic typewriter: “Say please.” He tried again, with the same result. A…

Best books… John Cleese The comedian, writer, actor and Monty Python founder John Cleese picks six of his favourite books. His memoir, So, Anyway…, has recently been released as an audiobook by Random House at £21.99 The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist, 2009 (Yale £12.99). This is probably the most interesting and important book I’ve read. McGilchrist is an extraordinary man. After teaching at Oxford, he became a psychiatrist and worked on the neuroimaging of the brain. His book is about the brain’s distinct hemispheres, which he believes have different ways of being in life, and that in our modern world they’ve fallen out of balance. Popper by Bryan Magee, 1973 (Fontana £9.99). To me, Karl Popper is the best philosopher of science of the last century. This…

Speciality leaf teas are as complex as wine, and for anyone trying to cut back on alcohol, they make a good alternative, says Fiona Beckett in The Guardian: At London’s brilliant Postcard Teas store (www.postcardteas.com), they recommend as a pick-me-up Master Xu’s Rou Gui (Dao Shui Keng) 2016, a roasted yancha (rock tea) oolong of incredible richness and sweetness. At £23.95 for a 20g caddy, it feels a bit like the tea world’s equivalent of Château Lafite, though you can reinfuse each pot several times. Less well-heeled oolong fans may prefer the wonderfully full-flavoured and fruity Mrs Chen’s Dong Ding Oolong, from Taiwan – Comins Tea in Bath (www.comins tea.com) sells it at a more modest £9 for 50g. If you’re short on time in the mornings, try the Rare…

Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita, Matera, Italy The “photogenic” Italian city of Matera teeters “on the edge of a canyon” above a network of caves known as the Sassi, says James Palmer in The Sunday Times. They were once the humble dwellings of peasants and farmers; now, 18 have been turned into luxury accommodation for the “modern Stone Age family”, with Philippe Starck baths, underfloor heating, dark-wood furniture, and Wi-Fi. Matera is one of the world’s oldest inhabited cities, and its stone buildings look almost “biblical”; you can see why Mel Gibson filmed The Passion of the Christ here. Doubles from £132 a night. +39 0835 332744; legrottedella civita.sextantio.it.…

Nuclear appears to be back in vogue. Here at home, after a protracted debate, work is about to start on a new fleet of nuclear plants that could in the future provide as much as 35 per cent of the UK’s electricity. Huge construction programmes are already going on in the developing world. China is currently, in some form, planning no fewer than around 200 nuclear power plants, while India is busy going about ensuring 25 per cent of its energy is supplied via nuclear fission by 2050. Alongside environmental concerns, a key consideration in relation to nuclear is political in nature and to do with energy security. But what do we mean by the term ‘energy security’ – and why is it so important in the nuclear debate? What…

What a day for hard Brexit fans, said Alistair Osborne in The Times. According to Peugeot boss Carlos Tavares – who has just pulled off a bargain s2.2bn deal to buy Vauxhall and Opel from General Motors – it’s an “opportunity”. “Brexit is interesting because nobody knows how it will unfold,” he said this week, in a message of reassurance to thousands of workers at Vauxhall plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port. A hard Brexit could mean even more investment in Britain’s car industry if a “pound cost structure” prompts a resurgence of the local supply chain. What a “seductive line” for the PM, Theresa May. Should she fall for it? There are good reasons to consider Tavares’ “appeal for the UK government to fund a rearming of the UK…

One sector that “Spreadsheet Phil” can rely upon to fill the coffers is Britain’s “creative economy”, says The Observer. The UK film, TV and music industries boomed in the second half of 2016, growing almost 11% compared with the previous six months. Here’s a breakdown of the performance… Film The industry has flourished over the past decade, following the introduction of a 25% tax break for co-productions with foreign filmmakers. Last year, £1.6bn was spent on film production; box-office sales hit a “near-record” £1.3bn. “In December alone, the film sector accounted for half of all growth in the key services sector”, which, in turn, “accounts for 80% of the British economy”. TV The arrival of Netflix and Amazon has driven “a golden age of investment”, with money being poured into…

Who’s tipping what The week’s best buys IG Design Group The Daily Telegraph This greetings card and gift wrap outfit is building international sales thanks to investment in new machinery, which gives greater flexibility, and some acquisitions. “Very efficient”, with net margins of 7%. Buy. 265p. Meggitt The Sunday Times The global engineering group has undergone a strategic review: cost-cutting, disposals of non-core divisions and management change are driving up shares, and sales are growing. Ripe for a sale. Buy. 458.3p. Merlin Entertainments The Times The theme park operator is expected to return to normal growth. A dramatic investment in rooms will increase the profitability of attractions, and four new Legolands are planned. Buy. 482p. Sotheby’s The Times Shares in the auction house soared 15% on the back of recent…